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<section article="gel" article_name="Election Law" number="9-311.1" title_number="9" title_name="Voting" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Absentee Voting">
  <level label="a">
    <text>All voters are eligible for permanent absentee ballot status.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>To request permanent absentee ballot status, a voter shall complete and submit:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>the State Board–approved absentee ballot application and indicate on the form that the voter wishes to have permanent absentee ballot status;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>a written request that includes the voter’s name, residence address, and signature; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>the online absentee ballot application provided by the State Board and indicate on the form that the voter wishes to have permanent absentee ballot status.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A voter may apply for permanent absentee ballot status at any time.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A voter who requests permanent absentee ballot status may not receive an absentee ballot for the next election if the request is made after the applicable deadline specified in § 9–305(c) of this subtitle.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>A voter shall specify in an absentee ballot application submitted in accordance with subsection (b) of this section:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>one of the following methods by which the voter chooses to receive an absentee ballot:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>mail;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>facsimile transmission; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>the Internet; and</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>one of the following methods by which the voter chooses to be contacted by the State Board under subsection (g) of this section before each election:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>nonforwardable mail;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>e–mail; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>text message.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>A voter who uses the online absentee ballot application to request permanent absentee ballot status or who uses any method to request to receive a blank absentee ballot through the Internet shall provide the information required under § 9–305(b) of this subtitle.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <text>A voter who submits a proper request for permanent absentee ballot status shall be placed on the permanent absentee ballot list.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <level label="1">
      <text>During the period beginning 120 days before an election and ending 90 days before the election, the State Board shall send a written communication to each voter who is on the permanent absentee ballot list using the method chosen by the voter under subsection (d)(2) of this section.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The communication required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>confirmation that the voter is included on the permanent absentee ballot list;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>the address of the voter;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>the method by which the voter has chosen to receive an absentee ballot; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>a statement that the voter must notify the local board if any of the changes listed in subsection (j) of this section have occurred.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>If the State Board is unable to contact a voter using the method of communication chosen by the voter under subsection (d)(2) of this section, the State Board shall attempt to contact the voter using another method.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>If the communication required under paragraph (1) of this subsection is sent by mail, the envelope shall include a statement, prominently placed, requesting that the recipient return the communication to the State Board if the intended recipient no longer lives at that address.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <text>A local board shall send an absentee ballot to each voter on the permanent absentee ballot list each time there is an election.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="i">
    <text>A voter who has permanent absentee ballot status shall be removed from the permanent absentee ballot list if:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>the voter requests to be removed from the list;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the voter is removed from the statewide voter registration list under Title 3, Subtitle 5 of this article;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>the voter fails to return an absentee ballot for two consecutive statewide general elections; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>any mail sent to the voter by the State Board or a local board is returned undeliverable.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="j">
    <text>A voter shall notify the local board if any of the following changes occur while the voter has permanent absentee ballot status:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>the voter no longer wishes to have permanent absentee ballot status;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the address to which the voter’s absentee ballot should be sent has changed; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>the voter wishes to receive an absentee ballot by a different method from the method previously indicated by the voter.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="k">
    <text>If a voter who has permanent absentee ballot status gives notice of a change of address under § 3–304 of this article, the local board shall enclose with the confirmation notice sent to the voter under § 3–502(b) of this article a notification that:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>the voter remains included on the permanent absentee ballot list; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the voter’s absentee ballot will be sent to the voter’s new address.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
